FEEDING THE MIND, ENERGY FROM CULTURE THE MAJOR PROJECTS OF THE VENERANDA FABBRICA DEL DUOMO DI MILANO FOR EXPO 2015 A great project, representation of an extraordinary tale: the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano. A tableau which draws from the origins of Milan, will highlight the energy and power of a Monument which, throughout the Centuries, has been elected as a pillar of the City itself, a center of Faith and a merging point between the local area and the world. It is in this place of immense beauty that the Identity of Milan and its international-oriented views have been forged. From Leonardo Da Vinci to Napoleon, from Johann Christian Bach to Expo 1906, to the great technological transformations of the contemporary age, within the great walls of the Cathedral the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo has always been at the service of the Catholic worship, as well as a milestone in the unending search for beauty and new languages of expression. Welcoming the world and the millions of worshipers and visitors awaited for the great Expo Event will mean to discover again the joy of being part of that tale, and live the meeting with the planet with the pride of an entirely Italian made cultural proposal. All of that happened on the occasion of Expo 1906, so as everyone could grasp the greatness of this artwork desired by the Milanese people. All of this is still happening in Veneranda Fabbrica, in a sort of ideal and permanent laboratory between generations, as in a relay race: the ancient images of 1906 merge with vibrations and energy of the new city. From the setting-up of a barge in Duomo s square to retrace the marble s path on the water, to the great Tony Cragg s exhibition over the Terraces, passing through the Moses by Gioacchino Rossini; from the opening of San Gottardo Church restored to its full splendor, the World Fair semester will see the Veneranda Fabbrica, together with Expo, at the core of Milan s life and the International context. Looking forward to the future, all the projects will be aided by the most advanced technologies, which will allow all visitors to experience the Monument, dialoguing with the Duomo, feeling of being part of it, as it has never been possible until now. 1. WATER May 2015 Piazza Duomo, Milano AD USUM FABRICAE A.U.F. THE ARK OF KNOWLEDGE Over the centuries, along the waterways of the Navigli, the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo has safeguarded knowledge, arts and crafts of the people, has protected skills that were in danger of being forgotten; through its activity of construction, renovation and protection, the Veneranda Fabbrica has supported and sustained the social, cultural and religious development of the city of Milan. To celebrate the commitment and the value of those who contributed for over six hundred years to the construction of the
Milan Cathedral, the Veneranda Fabbrica will set up on the north side of the Cathedral a barge similar to those which - for centuries - had carried the heavy stone blocks to the city. 2. IMAGE From 16 th April 2015 Terraces of the Duomo, Milan 3. PROTECTION From 1 st May 2015 Milano For the first time on the Terraces of the Duomo, a great Contemporary Art exhibition: Tony Cragg, an internationally renowned artist, with his works animated with movement toward the sky dialogues with the Spires and with the secular history of the Cathedral.On 4th November 2014, the day of the San Carlo Pontifical, "Paradosso" - the name of the sculpture commissioned to the British artist by the Fabbrica - was visited in the Cathedral by His Eminence the Archbishop of Milan Angelo Scola. The Veneranda Fabbrica chooses to tell the most important episode in its centuries-old history. Its more compelling story: the advent of the Madonnina on the top of the Duomo. A life-size reproduction of the statue will be placed in a significant place in the city, so that everyone can learn about the history of this event. 4. CELEBRATION 1 st May 2015 Terraces of the Duomo, Milan From this unique point of view in the world, the bell of the Cathedral will ring on the evening of May 1st, at sunset, involving progressively all the bells of the city. The Milan Cathedral greets so the start of the World fair opening itself to the world. Later, the Italian Army Band will perform a concert on the Terraces of the Cathedral: an inaugural event that will mark the beginning of a new chapter in the centuries-old history of the Fabbrica.
5. THE CITY 5 th May 2015 The Church of San Gottardo in Corte, Milan On the evening of 5th May 2015, the day dedicated to the memory of the patron saint, the Church of San Gottardo in Corte will be returned to its citizens in its former glory. Church consecrated - also known as the Church of the Artists - will be brought back to its original function: the inauguration will take place with a great mass embellished with a musical accompaniment performed by the Choir of the historic Cathedral of Milan, active since 1402, among the oldest cultural institutions of the city. 6. LIGHT 8 th -11 th -15 th -18 th June 2015 Duomo of Milan The Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo, in the wake of a centuries-old tradition of dialogue with the contemporary, chooses the most advanced technology to open up to the world and the public with an immediacy never achieved until now. For the first time the musical tale of Moses by Gioachino Rossini will be performed in the Cathedral. The public participating in the event will receive a usb CARD that contains the resumption of work in HD quality and other special contents, to be able to relive the feelings experienced within the unique setting of the Cathedral. 7. ORIGIN 9 th -10 th July 2015 Parvis of the Duomo of Milan Quarry. The importance of Candoglia as a place marked by fate at its best: this is the focus of the project carried out by the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo in Milan in July 2015, when in the Quarry will be performed the "prayers" taken from the works of Giuseppe Verdi. This great music will reverberate from Candoglia to Milan, symbolically joining the two places; it will be possible to live in square the intimate and religious experience of the Candoglia
8. THE KALEIDOSCOPE 20 th -22 th -24 th July 2015 Cathedral and Terraces of the Duomo of Milan The Veneranda Fabbrica of Duomo is promoting a meeting in which nearly two hundred young musicians from fifteen countries over the world - belonging to very different social, economic and cultural backgrounds - will perform in three concerts, first in the Cathedral, then in the enchanting setting of the Terraces of the Cathedral at sunset, where Milan will host a true feast of music. 9. THE VENERANDA 3 rd -4 th -5 th -6 th -7 th -8 th -9 th -10 th August 2015 Terraces of the Duomo of Milan The Cathedral is a monument born especially thanks to the work of simple people, artisans and sculptors serving a superior plan. The marble stones became Monument drifting the Navigli on barges, eventually docking on the hands of those who had the task to sculpt them. Faces and stories that, through the years, alternate in its processing. Also the sculptors will become protagonists in the event Lungh me la Fabrica del Domm, settled in on the Cathedral s Terraces. A prose performance will be on stage on the evocative Terraces of the Cathedral, a tale about the Veneranda Fabbrica s history, told through the voice of the Veneranda itself and of those who contributed to the creation, day after day throughout the centuries, of that great Monument. 10. TECHNOLOGY 28 th -29 th -30 th September 2015 Duomo di Milano In September the Cathedral s story will be told through videomapping. The Cathedral will liven up thanks to unexpected colour effects, background sound harmonies, and new profiles defined by the chiaroscuro of 3D projections: the light underlines the more subtle hues of the air, defining new lines in the stone.
11. HARMONY October 2015 The Musical activities will involve all the branches of the Veneranda Fabbrica: the Cathedral, its Terraces, the Church of San Gottardo in Corte, the Great Museum, the Church of Santa Maria Annunciata in Camposanto, the Sala dei Milanesi, the new space of Sotto Duomo, the exhibition room dedicated to Gian Galeazzo, a space of Art in which all the precious documents from the musical Archive will be protagonists, a true diary of the city of Milan. During the day, at different times, the Cathedral will be vivified by Organ concerts, concerts by the Milan Cathedral Musical Chapel established in 1402 and soloorchestra concerts. 12. THE SIGN 1 st May 31 st October 2015 The Veneranda Fabbrica welcomes the citizens from all over the world to compete and look back at the thread of a story which is always open to the new, the different, the foreign. The photographic contest EXPO-DUOMO: UN IMMAGINE NELLA STORIA DI MILANO wants to tell the city of Milan through the eyes of whom, come from far away, will be willing to read the signs of a never-ending story with their sensibility. The exhibition with the winners of the contest will be open in 2016, together with the EXPO organizers, when the desire to show and admire the memory of the great event will still be strong. The great tale of the Cathedral is open to imagination, as everyone who experiences this Monument, crossing its great doors, walking along the mighty naves, climbing up to the forest of statues on the Terraces, can immediately perceive an extraordinary dimension. This will be the most beautiful story to be written during EXPO. www.duomomilano.it